Turku, Southwest Finland, Finland
MY VALUE PROPOSITION I thrive in environments where complexity meets opportunity. Over the past 26 years, I have delivered complex, scalable omnichannel solutions across four countries and two global organisations. I have established new markets, led commercial transformations, and built operations from the ground up. I design and deliver large-format store rollouts, digital commerce and remote-selling strategies, loyalty programs, and seamless physical–digital customer journeys. I am at my best when bringing structure to ambiguity – aligning people, managing risk, and creating governance that enables teams to deliver lasting outcomes. WHAT I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT • Physical retail as a stage for brand experience – the store is where a brand becomes real for a customer, and getting that right at scale across markets and channels is one of the most rewarding challenges in business. • The integration of physical and digital – not as separate channels competing for budget, but as a single connected customer experience where each makes the other stronger. I have led omnichannel transformation at country level and built digital penetration strategies for markets with no physical presence. • Spotting and developing talent – I believe the truest measure of leadership is the growth of the people you leave behind. I invest in identifying potential and helping people achieve more than they believed possible. • Turning complexity into clarity – I am drawn to the moments where no one quite knows what to do next, because that is where real work begins. • Iconic brands with genuine values – I have given 26 years to a brand I believed in and am inspired by organisations that strive to make a positive difference. WHAT I AM KNOWN FOR • Building governance frameworks from scratch in environments that have none – and making them stick. • Operating at both programme and project levels – governing portfolios while staying close to delivery to remove barriers and support teams. • Holding strategy and operational detail simultaneously – comfortable in boardrooms and on-site. • Cross-cultural leadership across countries, functions, and business models. • Developing the people around me into leaders who go further than they believed possible. HOW I BUILT MY SUCCESS • Walking into complexity – mapping reality, identifying root causes, and building solutions that last. • Treating governance as an enabler – creating clarity through accountability and effective escalation. • Investing in people and process equally – building capability so organisations perform with or without me.
SCOPE: Accountable for the full market P&L and overall performance across all channels — in-store, online, and remote — driving extraordinary growth in sales, market penetration, and brand positioning across primary and secondary catchment areas. Responsible for the Market Management Team and the Market Growth Plan, working in close collaboration with the Commercial function to integrate all channels into a consistent customer experience, grow online channel performance, maximise reach into primary and secondary markets, and remove operational constraints that limited digital conversion and fulfilment. Led two capital investment projects during tenure: a dishwash room renovation (€650K) and a cooking and eating department rebuild (€200K) — both delivered on time and within budget. ORGANISATIONAL IMPACTS: • Delivered the highest market share in Finland by end of tenure — securing strong commercial performance across the market P&L by directing retail operations in alignment with the Ingka Retail Direction, driving growth and sustainable profitability, and increasing visitor numbers and conversion rates across all channels. • Led the market to be the best in the country across all key brand performance metrics — Top of Mind, Trust, Range Desire, Value for Money, Affordability, and Accessibility — and led brand dynamics in spontaneous awareness, aided consideration, and both online and offline visit growth. Strengthened competitive position by co-developing the Market Growth Plan and ensuring consistent implementation of the IKEA Concept across all media and channels. • Grew the online channel through targeted market reach expansion, removal of operational barriers to digital conversion, and active promotion of remote and online shopping — in close collaboration with the Commercial function.
SCOPE: Senior member of the Country Management Team, accountable for the full commercial agenda — Consumer & Customer Insights, Marketing, Home Furnishing & Retail Design, Selling, Customer Experience, Food, e-commerce (IKEA.fi), and the Remote Customer Meeting Point covering remote selling, online chat, and call centre resolution — for a national omnichannel retail organisation navigating structural transformation from traditional retail toward a fully integrated multichannel model. Held full accountability for channel mix performance across offline, online, and remote channels, gross margin delivery, and the prioritisation and integration of initiatives across the country business plan and P&L. Took on the mandate to establish and lead a unified commercial function — building the governance, decision rights, KPI frameworks, and performance cadences that connected local commercial execution to country and global strategic objectives. ORGANISATIONAL IMPACTS: • Chaired the Commercial Council — the country-level governance forum approving commercial investments and driving market share growth, with CFO, Logistics, Selling, and Insights representation. • Made strategic investment proposals to the country board — including digital expansion into the top 20 growth markets and loyalty programme penetration strategy for markets with no physical presence. • Worked alongside the CFO as the effective right hand to the Country Retail Manager — presenting to a global board and Advisory Council with external independent members at CEO and owner level. • Built a high-performing unified commercial team across six functions — establishing clear decision rights, performance expectations, and development structures that increased autonomy and reduced management dependency. Country Diversity and Inclusion Sponsor.
SCOPE: Retail Program Manager and Founding Store Manager for the first IKEA store in Latin America — a full market entry with zero existing local infrastructure, executed across 11 concurrent workstreams within a simultaneously developing shopping centre, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. My role was to own the critical path, map dependencies, and ensure every part of the programme moved in alignment. Store spans 23,000m² across three levels. Projected 5.3 million visitors in year one. Total investment: ~USD 100 million. ORGANISATIONAL IMPACTS: • Owned the critical path across 11 workstreams — coordinating 300 project staff and 100+ contractors from Southeast Asia to Europe, with up to 500 people on site during fitout. • Managed programme costs through UNIFIER with monthly reporting to two governance forums. Recalibrated the full schedule eight times as pandemic conditions changed, maintaining budget integrity throughout. • Navigated first-time market entry complexity — product certification, regulatory compliance, and anti-corruption governance — with zero incidents. Resolved COVID site access restrictions through a fully compliant workforce reclassification exceeding government requirements. • Secured formal franchisor retail approval before opening. Coordinated virtual recruitment and onboarding of 320 co-workers — 97% hired locally — in close collaboration with the HR team.